It's a lot of attention, but it's the result of a lot of things coming together at the same time. Interest in local food, concern about food safety and security, growing awareness of loss of genetic diversity and just plain chicken attraction all go into the mix. I'm grateful to be in a position to respond to questions people have about chickens and other poultry.

About Me

As a professional journalist, I began writing about heritaqe poultry after my daughter and I acquired our first chickens in the 1980s. Voyageur Press invited me to write How to Raise Chickens in 2007, followed by How to Raise Poultry in 2009. New editions of both were published in 2013 and 2014. The poultry book covers ducks, geese, swans, turkeys, guineafowl, game birds and ratites as well as chickens.
My next book, The Backyard Field Guide to Chickens, will be available in May 2016.
Traditional breeds are the best choice for small flocks. I continue as a regular contributor to Backyard Poultry magazine.